Shoe sewing machine



Dec. 19, 1933. A BATES 1,939,945

SHOE SEWING MACHINE Filed Sept. 11, 1928 to face of the sole.

Patented Dec. 19, 1933 UNITED STATES SHOE SEWING ACHINE Arthur Bates,Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation,Paterson, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 11,

1928, Serial No.

305,200, and in Great Britain September 14,

The present invention relates to shoe sewing machines. r

In the-manufacture of some types of shoes it is necessary to employ solematerials such as U, thin leather, crepe rubber, or combinations of feltand leather,which from the standpoint of thread holding characteristicsare inherently weak. This is particularly true of turn shoes in whichthe inseam does not penetrate from face In the case of shoes or slippersmade with leather soles, the proper between substance to hold thestitching places limits upon the thinness and texture of the leather andin case of crepe work, it is very dimcult to sew with the desired amountof tension since the row of thread lengths which lies on the sole itselfis liable to cut into the material of the sole.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a machineparticularly adapted to manufacture a turn shoe or slipper which may bemade with a sole of very thin leather, crepe, felt, or material whichfrom the point of view of its stitch holding character is of inferiorgrade.

With this object in view, one feature of the invention contemplates theprovision in a sewing machine of devices forproducing a shoe in whichthe holding of the individual stitches is assured by a strip or" cord ofmaterial interposed between the individual thread lengths and thesurface of the sole and which passes alternately on opposite sides ofthe stitch holes.

The strip or cord is preferably of thicker material than the seamthread, in order to afford considerable supporting surface for thethread against any possibility of pulling or cutting into the materialof the sole.

' Further features of the invention consist in novel features of sewingmachine construction and combinations and arrangements of partshereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of so much ofthe parts of a sewing machine of the type referred to as is necessaryfor an understanding of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a view similarto Fig. 1 showing a machine for operating on an unchanneled shoe; Fig. 3is a front elevation of the lower end of the thread laying mechanismshowing its relationship to the needle; ,Fig. 4 is a view similar toFig. 3 showing a modified form of the invention; Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview showing the thread layer and its operating mechanismgFig.

9 Claims. (01. 112-35) 6 is aview showing a seam sewn on the machineofthe present invention; and Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of a turn shoeaccording to the present invention.

The illustrated machine comprises a curved w hooked needle turn shoesewing machine which has the general organization of the machinedescribed in the patent to Bates No. 1,188,388 and Bates and RichardsNo. 1,188,389. The machine has the usual stitch formingdevices-preferably of the general form disclosed in the prior patentsabove referred to.

Referring to the drawing, the machine has a curved hooked needle 1oscillating in a fixed plane, the usual looper 2 and thread finger 3. 7A feed member illustrated generally at4 in Fig.

1 is employed to feed the work. As shown in Fig. 1, the machine isadapted for sewing an upper 5 to a channeled sole 6 and the feed membercomprises a four-motion channel guide of the usual form. In themanufacture of a shoe with an unchanneled sole as shown in Fig. 2, thefeed member may comprise any usual or preferred feeding device, such asa four-motion pricker. v

In either form of the machine, whether for sewing an unchanneled or achanneled sole, the shoe without being lasted is supported on the rotaryhorn 7, the upper 5 being turned over theedge of the sole 6. h

In order to provide for laying the reinforcing strip or cord, a threadlayer 8 is provided which is adapted to swing in a vertical plane inproximity to the needle. The arm 8 is fixed in one arm of a bell cranklever 9 pivoted on a shaft 10, which is fixed in the frame of themachine and which is parallel to the cam shaft 11 and about four inchespractically directly above the sewing point. The thread laying arm isactuated by a link 12 which is pivotally connected to the bell cranklever 9 and at an'intermediate point to an arm 13 pivoted on the frameof the machine. The link carries at one end a cam roll 14 which enters acam groove in agear 15 mounted 'ona stud 16, which stud is journalled inthe machine frame with its axis parallel to that of. the cam 5 shaft.The gear 15 meshes with a pinion 17 on the cam shaft, the gear ratiobeing such that the gear 15 makes a complete revolution for every tworevolutions of the cam shaft.

As shown in Fig. 3, the thread laying arm 8 '7 as viewed from the frontof the machine, oscillates in a plane slightly to the left of the planeof the needle. The motion of the arm as imparted by the link '12 isbetween the positions 0 in Fig. 2.

shown in full lines and in dot and dash lines At the lower end, thethread laying arm delivers a reinforcing cord 20 through a suitable eye30, the thread being supplied from a cop over a suitable tension device21, a spring pressed take-up arm 22, and a guide pulley 23 on the end ofthe link 12. The cord may pass directly from the pulley 23 to the eye30, but preferably as shown in Fig. 3, it passes through two eyes 31 and32 in the arm above the eye 30, from one side to the other and back, inorder to control its passage near the lower end of the arm and toprevent its catching when moving near the needle.

As shown in Fig. 3, wherein the plane of oscillation of the threadlaying arm is slightly to the left of the plane of oscillation of theneedle, that is, between the plane of the needle and the thread finger3, the arm 8 is provided with a gradual taper 26 to form a blade-likeend, enabling it to pass to and fro freely with its cord in its eye inthe narrow passage afforded between the needle on the one side and thethread finger and looper on the other. When the thread laying arm is inthe position indicated in full lines in Fig. 2, that is, in its foremostposition as viewed from the front of the machine, its lower end is aboutone and threequarters incheshorizontally in front of and aboutthree-quarters of an inch higher than the lowest point in the needlepath. At the rearmost position of the thread laying arm, as indicated indot and dash lines, the lower end of the arm is practically one-quarterof an inch directly above the lowest point of the'needle path. The camwhich oscillates the thread laying arm is so designed as to cause thearm to dwell successsively in its extreme positions.

With its lower end in its forward position as shown in full lines inFig. 2, the arm 8 dwells during the time that the needle 1 is looped andthen fully retracted. When the needle starts to advance onthe followingstitch, the arm 8 starts to move back, the arm and the needle passingeach other just after the needle reaches fully advanced position. Thelower end of the arm reaches its fully retracted position, that is, asshown in dot and dash lines, just after the thread finger 3 commences tomove back in the usual cycle of its movements. The thread laying armdwells in the retracted position during the time that the needle isagain looped and retracted. During the next advancement of the needle,the arm 8 starts its forward motion approximately as the needle point ispassing by the side of the thread finger 3. Shortly after the needlereaches fully advanced position, the lower end of the arm 8 passesforwardly betweenthe needle 1 on the one side and the looper 2 andthread finger 3 on the other side, and reaches its fully advancedposition approximately at the same time that the thread finger 3 reachesits retracted position and the looper 2 starts its looping'movement by amovement to the right behind the needle point. In this manner it will beseen that the thread laying arm is alternately in front and in the rearof the needle and looper for successive looping operations.

In the modified arrangement. shown in Fig. 4, the thread laying arm 8oscillates in the same vertical plane as the needle. In this case thethread laying arm may be formed with a broader point, the taperedformation shown in Fig. 3 being unnecessary because of the greaterclearance between the arm 8 and the thread ed fully advanced position,and immediately be fore the thread finger 3 commences to move back. Thearm 8, dwells in its retracted position during the time that the needleis again looped, retracted, and started on its advancing movement, thearm 8 commencing its forward movement just as the needle commences itsforward movement and reaching its fully forward position just after theneedle has reached its forward position.

A fragmentary view of a turn shoe or slipper made according. to thepresent invention is shown in Fig. 7, illustrating the upper 5 at- 1tached to the sole 6 before the shoe is turned right side out.

When the needle is looped with the lower end of the arm 8 in itsretracted position, the cord extending to the eye of the arm 8 from itslast anchorage to the work passesthrough the closed area bounded bytheneedle thread extending from the last stitch hole to the needle, by theneedle projected from the sole and the sole itself, While on the otherhand, when the needle is looped with the lower end of the thread layingarm in forward position, the cord does not pass into that area.

It will be seen that the cord lies under each thread length 24 extendingbetween consecutive stitch holes, that is, it lies between the. threadlength and the sole. The cord is preferably of heavier and thickermaterial than the thread, so that as viewed from above the sole, thecord appears only slightly undulated and the thread appears to zigzagabove it from one stitch hole to the next. The relatively heavier cordnot only affords a sufiicient surface of engagement with the sole toprevent its cutting therethrough, but also makes a support for aconsiderable portion'of each thread length between stitch holes toprevent them from cutting into the sole either at the stitch holes or atany position between them. The difiiculties ordinarily encountered inapplying the proper tension to the thread in soles of crepe rubber,felt, thin leather, or other material of inherently weak thread holdingcharacteristics are therefore avoided.

The invention is equally applicable to the manufacture of shoes withchanneled and unchanneled soles. The former will be best adapted forleather soles, and the latter for crepe or so-called combination soles.In the unchann'eled sole, a groove of small dimensions may be provided,if desired, to form a bed to'accommodate the thread and the cord.

It will be understood that although the thread supporting medium 20 hasbeen described as a cord, the invention is not to be considered limitedto a cord but may include any flexible strip which is laid on oppositesides of the stitch holes and under the individual thread lengthsMoreover, the term sole as used herein may include either a sole havingan actual tread surface or an insole.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A turn shoe sewing machine comprising a curved hooked needle, alooper, an oscillating thread laying arm movable in a plane between theplane of movement of the needle and the looper, means for moving thethread laying arm having provision for causing the arm to dwellalternately in front and in the rear of the needle point for successivestitches to lay a cord between the individual thread lengths and thesole.

2. A turn shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a curved hookedneedle for sewing the upper to the sole of the shoe by stitches which donot penetrate from the foot face to the tread face, a looper, and meansfor laying a cord alternately on opposite sides of the needle point forsuccessive stitches whereby the cord passes under the individual threadlengths and on opposite sides of the stitch holes.

3. A turn shoe sewing machine comprising a curved hooked needle, alooper, an oscillating thread laying arm movable in the plane ofmovement of the needle, means for moving the thread laying arm havingprovision for causing the arm to dwell alternately in front and in therear of the needle point for successive stitches to lay a cord betweenthe individual thread lengths and the sole.

ARTHUR BATES.

